Switzerland a model for innovative tourism, says the World Economic Forum

08 May, 2007

Switzerland, celebrated worldwide as the tourists’ paradise, has added another feather in its tourism cap, with the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) recommending that regional economies can look to Switzerland’s travel and tourism sector for innovation.

A new index compiled by the WEF has recognised Switzerland as the most competitive travel and tourism sector in the world.

In the World Economic Forum’s first Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), the mountain-country outranked 123 other countries based on its safety record and high quality staff in the tourism sector.

Meanwhile, Switzerland has announced that it had witnessed its best tourism figures, since 2000, in 2006.

The World Economic Forum’s report describes Switzerland as an extremely safe country, with excellent health and hygiene indicators, as well as environmental regulation that is among the most stringent and effective in the world. Having some of the most well-regarded hotel management schools in the world, the quality of the country’s human resources is first-class.

The Swiss transport system and tourism infrastructure, the report goes on to say, are among the best in the world.

Also, the natural and cultural resources of Switzerland, which is home to six World Heritage sites, are among the richest in the world.

Switzerland has been followed by neighbours Austria and Germany. Iceland, the United States, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom are the other countries in the top ten.

According to Jennifer Blanke, senior economist of the WEF’s Global Competitiveness Network, the study was neither a ‘beauty contest’ nor a statement about the attractiveness of a country. The goal of the study was to measure the factors that make it attractive to develop the travel and tourism industry of individual countries.

The top rankings of Switzerland, Austria and Germany, Hong Kong and Singapore demonstrate, says Jennifer Blanke, the following facts: the importance of supportive business and regulatory frameworks, combined with world-class transport and tourism infrastructure and a focus on nurturing human and natural resources to foster an environment that is attractive for developing the travel and tourism sector.

The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index uses a combination of data from publicly available sources, international travel and tourism institutions and industry experts.

Countries were judged on 13 categories – including security, transport infrastructure, hygiene, rules and regulations and the priority given to travel and tourism.